Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (ドラゴンボールZ バーストリミット, Doragon Bōru Zetto Bāsuto Rimitto) is a fighting video game based off of the popular anime/manga series'' Dragon Ball Z, released for the ''Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles. It was announced in Shonen Jump magazine on December 12, 2007, and released in Europe and Japan on June 6, 2008. It was released in the United States on June 10, 2008. The game's developer is Namco Bandai. Story Mode The game's story mode charts the Z Fighters from the beginning of the Saiyan Saga to the end of the Cell Saga, allowing players to take control of the character who won that particular fight - i.e. against Raditz, you take control of Goku, however if Cell were to have won a fight in the TV show, you would take control of Cell. In addition, there are two "what if" storylines, where the player takes control of Bardock and Broly, and what would happen if they were to come to Earth. Gameplay Burst Limit's gameplay is very similar to the ''Budokai'' series; basic kicks, punches and combos are available, along with the "Ki Blast" button and a direction leading to a more powerful version of that attack, for example a Kamehameha or Destructo Disk. The game makes use of a multiple health bar system, with each character having a maximum (determined in the game options) of six health "blocks" that are worn down until the character reaches zero, when they are knocked out. It also makes use of a "Fatigue meter" - blocking and certain attacks use up fatigue, and when this reaches zero, the character is stunned for a few moments while he or she recovers - and the "Ki meter", which is a gradually regenerating bar that provides power for larger energy attacks, transformations, "powering up" and the game's finishing moves, "ultimate" attacks. In order to transform, you press down on R1 (in the PlayStation 3 version) or RB (in the Xbox 360 version). The game utilizes in fight cutscenes or "drama scenes" in order to make it as true to the anime as possible - for example, if a character is attacked with an energy beam, in some situations it may switch to a cutscene to depict the character deflecting the energy beam and taking no damage, or another character jumping in the way. These Drama Scenes are activated once the fight reaches certain parameters, for example the player is down to 30% health or has just reached their final form. Any character in the roster can also be picked as a "support" character - support characters are available in every fight, and may be activated in a similar way to drama scenes. A cutscene will begin and the character will be shown deflecting an energy blast, kicking the opponent or standing in the way of an attack in order to defend the player, transferring itself to affect the battle in a number of ways, such as enhanced ki regeneration, damage down or fatigue down. The game then returns to normal gameplay. Characters The game has 21 playable characters available. Several characters have transformations into Super Saiyan or other powerful forms. The following characters (and their transformations) are available in Burst Limit: *Goku (Base, Kaio-ken, Super Saiyan) *Kid Gohan (Base, Unlock Potential) *Teen Gohan (Base, Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2) *Piccolo (Base, Fusion with Nail, Fusion with Kami) *Vegeta (Base, Super Saiyan, Super Vegeta) *Future Trunks (Base, Super Saiyan, Super Trunks) *Frieza (Base, 2nd Form, 3rd Form, Final Form, 100% Final form) *Cell (Base, Semi-Perfect Form, Perfect Form, Super Perfect Form) *Krillin (Base, Unlock Potential) *Tien Shinhan *Yamcha *Android 16 *Android 17 *Android 18 *Saibaman *Captain Ginyu *Recoome *Raditz *Nappa *Bardock *Broly (Legendary Super Saiyan) Reception and sales Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit received generally positive reviews. IGN gave the game a 7.9/10, commenting that "Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is a strong fighting game, with combat mechanics that are both simple and deep. There are some issues in terms of variety, however, with a limited number of stages and characters that are fairly similar to one another." GameTrailers gave the game a 8.2/10 and said that "Drama pieces are a nice touch but can sometimes burden the action." and "Burst Limit should no doubt please fans of the show, thanks to a large cast of characters, a fleshed-out story mode, and all the special attacks fireworks you'd expect." Following its initial release, the PS3 port became the top selling game in Japan for a total of three months. Beating out its Xbox 360 counterpart, which came in at twelve, and other games including Mario Kart Wii, which came at four, and Ninja Gaiden II, which came in at eight.Simple 2000: The Japanese, Dragon Ball Z Japanese Sales Are Over 90,000!!, Michael McWhertor for Kotak (June 12, 2008)メディアクリエイト全国ランキング 今週TOPはPS3『DBZ バーストリミット』9.2万本、360版とは大差, Gpara, June 12, 2008 Atari reported that the game along with Alone in the Dark helped to increase the company's net sales.Atari, Inc. and Subsidiaries June 30, 2008 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, August 14, 2008, page 35 The game was nominated for a Spike video game award for best fighting game,Spike TV Announces Nominees for 6th VGAs, Brian Crecente, Kotaku (Nov 13, 2008) but lost out to Soul Calibur IV.Spike VGA Winners: GTAIV snags game of the year, Dustin Burg, Joystiq (December 15, 2008) Along with its sales the game received positive reviews from various gaming critics. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions earned their own aggregated scores of 71/100[http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps3/dragonballzburstlimit Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (PS3) reviews at Metacritic.com] and 72/100 on Metacritic,[http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/dragonballzburstlimit Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (xbox360) reviews at Metacritic.com] 72.37%[http://www.gamerankings.com/ps3/944315-dragon-ball-z-burst-limit/index.html Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit for PlayStation 3, GameRankings] and 73.23% on GameRankings,[http://www.gamerankings.com/xbox360/944316-dragon-ball-z-burst-limit/index.html Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit for Xbox 360, GameRankings] and 7.7[http://www.gamestats.com/objects/142/14224980/ GameStats: DBZ: Burst Limit Cheats, Reviews, News (PS3)] and 7.9 on GameStats[http://www.gamestats.com/objects/142/14224981/ GameStats: DBZ: Burst Limit Cheats, Reviews, News (Xbox 360)] respectfully. Chris Roper of IGN felt that the combat mechanics were "simple and deep", but had issues with the extent to which many of the characters and stages were similar to each other.[http://ps3.ign.com/articles/881/881011p1.html Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit Review, Kamehameha! The DBZ crew is back, online and taking names, Chris Roper for IGN (June 11, 2008)] Will Herring of GamePro praised the games visuals and felt that the Drama Pieces integrated well within the Z Chronicles. However, he stated that they didn't seem to work well when applied to the multiplayer mode.[http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/191208/dragon-ball-z-burst-limit/ Review: Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, Will Herring for GamePro (June 11, 2008)] Justin Calvert of GameSpot stated the visuals and animation would impress regular gamers, despite referring to the environments as bland. He continued, saying that "the overall look of Burst Limit is definitely greater than the sum of its parts".[http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/dragonballzburstlimit/review.html Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit Review: "This 3D fighting game can be enjoyed by newcomers to the DBZ universe and Super Saiyan wannabes alike", Justin Calvert for GameSpot (Jun 10, 2008)] Phil Theobald of GameSpy felt the lack of content made the game feel a little shallow, but called the game a quality fighting game with an improved game engine that couldn't be denied.[http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/dragon-ball-z-burst-limit/881677p1.html Reviews Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, Goku and the Z Fighters make their first appearance on the 360. You know what we're Saiyan?, Phil Theobald for GameSpy (Jun 13, 2008)] GameTrailers praised the game by calling it "a well-rounded package in fighting shape", while keeping its paces with plenty of gaming modes. They also stated that its depth might not please hardcore gamers, but fans or gamers looking for a user friendly fighter might enjoy it.[http://www.gametrailers.com/gamereview.php?id=5932 Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit: Reviews, Trailers, and Interviews, GameTrailers] Dakota Grabowski of GameZone stated that it was an excellent game with some drawbacks, such as lack of characters and an under refined online multiplayer. While overall felt the game was a critical success.[http://xbox360.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r34428.htm Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit Review, Dakota Grabowski for GameZone (June 30, 2008)] Matt Cabral of Official Xbox Magazine praised the controls and the visuals. He also stated "after countless titles spanning various platforms, we may just have the best Dragon Ball Z game yet".[http://www.oxmonline.com/article/reviews/xbox-360/a-f/dragon-ball-z-burst-limit Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, OXM Online, Matt Cabral, Official Xbox Magazine (June 12, 2008)] However some critics were not as pleased with the game overall. Anthony Gallegos of 1up.com was impressed by the game at first but was ultimately disappointed by its lack of innovation.[http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3168206&p=4 Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit Review, Anthony Gallegos for 1up.com (June 12 2008)] Dale Nardozzi of TeamXbox called much of the games features bare bones. He also complained about the game's sixty dollar price tag, stating that the gameplay didn't justify the game's cost. He recommended that consumers would be better off getting the game as a trade-in, a rental, or as a loan from a DBZ fan.[http://reviews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1518/Dragon-Ball-Z-Burst-Limit/p2/ Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit Review (Xbox 360) Dale Nardozzi for TeamXbox (June 10, 2008)] As of September 2011, the game has sold over 1.23 million units combined worldwide, with over 770,242 on the PlayStation 3, and 470,000 on the Xbox 360.[http://www.vgchartz.com/games/index.php?name=burst+limit Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, vgchartz.com] Downloadable content and extras In an interview with Gamespot, Donny Clay announced that no downloadable content is currently planned for either version of the game. Trivia *''Kamehameha, the signature move, appears on commercials on TV when saying it. The clips shown for the advertisement are such as arm wrestling, chef, megaphone, office, etc. *Much like the ''Budokai series, Cell's voice does not change when transformed, he instead retains his Perfect Form voice in this game. *The game marks the return of the episodic story mode. *This is the first Dragon Ball Z game on the high-definition generation of consoles, and the only game on HD consoles which has Budokai-style gameplay. *This is the first time in the English version of the games that Goku calls himself by his full name "Son Goku". *This game shows Goku in the Father-Son Kamehameha in his normal stage, not as a Super Saiyan. *Although Chiaotzu does not make an appearance as a playable character or even an appearance in the game, he is still mentioned. *In the opening sequence, when attacking Nappa, Goku is wearing the costume he wore when fighting the Ginyu Force, but he does not have this costume in the game. *Though this form is not playable, Goku is seen transforming into a Super Saiyan 2 against Broly at the end of game. *In this game, Frieza's tail whip is white, while it is purple in the anime. References Category:Dragon Ball games Category:Fighting games Category:Video Games Category:Video games where Android 16 is playable Category:Video games where Android 17 is playable Category:Video games where Android 18 is playable Category:Video games where Bardock is playable Category:Video games where Broly is playable Category:Video games where Captain Ginyu is playable Category:Video games where Cell is playable Category:Video games where Frieza is playable Category:Video games where Future Trunks is playable Category:Video games where Gohan is playable Category:Video games where Goku is playable Category:Video games where Krillin is playable Category:Video games where Nappa is playable Category:Video games where Piccolo is playable Category:Video games where Raditz is playable Category:Video games where Recoome is playable Category:Video games where Saibamen are playable Category:Video games where Tien Shinhan is playable Category:Video games where Vegeta is playable Category:Video games where Yamcha is playable